A business mission of Business Russia and Distributed Power Generation Association to the United Arab Emirates has come to an and this week. The fifth trip of entrepreneurs to this country turned out to be the longest in time, the most representative in terms of the number of participants and diverse in the program. Within five days, the heads of 10 Russian companies visited three UAE free zones (Masdar City, KEZAD, DMCC), paid an official visit to Sharjah Chamber of Commerce and Industry, and also took part in the 24th International Water, Energy, Technology and Environment Exhibition WETEX-2022. According to Maksim Zagornov, Business Ambassador of Business Russia to the UAE and President of Distributed Power Generation Association, who arranged the mission, the developments of Russian engineering companies aroused the Emirati partners' interest.
The 24th International Water, Energy, Technology and Environment Exhibition WETEX-2022 is one of the most authoritative exhibitions of this profile in the world. It is held under the patronage of the Prime Minister of the UAE, Ruler of Dubai H.H. Sheikh Mohammed bin Rashid Al Maktoum. The exhibition is arranged by the Dubai Electricity and Water Authority (DEWA). This year, WETEX-2022 was held at the Dubai World Trade Center and gathered more than 1,750 companies from 55 countries. All-Russia Public Organization Business Russia jointly with Distributed Power Generation Association have also presented its stand within the Made in Russia pavilion - next to the central DEWA exposition.
The delegation of Business Russia and Distributed Power Generation Association included the owners and senior management of 10 innovative companies working in the field of distributed power generation, electric transport, information and climate technologies, hazardous waste disposal and logistics. Within the framework of a single stand, they presented innovative developments and technologies, held meetings and strategic negotiations, outlined the ways of further cooperation.
The stand of Business Russia and the Made in Russia pavilion in general aroused great interest among the exhibitors. As Joelle Khouri, head of the WETEX organizing committee, stated at the opening ceremony of the Russian exposition, Russian exhibitors are in the zone of special attention this year.
“We are confident that we will expand our cooperation with Russia and grow together into a larger exhibition. And we will not stop working with you”, says Joelle Khouri at the opening ceremony
A sign of special attention was the greeting of the Russian delegation by H.H. Sheikh Ahmed bin Saeed Al Maktoum, President of the Dubai Civil Aviation Authority, CEO and Founder of the Emirates Group, Chairman of Dubai World, during the exhibition tour. He noted that he was glad to see such a representative delegation from Russia at WETEX.
Within three days, the stand of Business Russia was visited by the Vice President of DEWA Abdul Saeed Abdul Hamid, delegations of DEWA Energy Department, the Ministry of Energy of Saudi Arabia, the UAE Engineers Association, RTA Dubai (Dubai Roads and Transport Authority), RKM (The Office of His Highness Sheikh Rashid bin Khalifa Al Maktoum), as well as senior management of the leading companies from the UAE, Qatar, Oman, India, South Africa, etc.
According to Maksim Zagornov, a number of developments of Russian engineering companies presented at the stand of Business Russia aroused particular interest among the Emirati partners. In particular, the Dubai Electricity and Water Authority (DEWA) showed its interest in the projects of hybrid and hydrogen power plants from MKC Group of Companies, innovative IT solutions for the charging infrastructure market from ZEVS, R.bot software robots from BizApps company, as well as an innovative air cooling technology based on Maisotsenko thermodynamic cycle from M-Cycle Industries Inc.
It should be noted that this year the WETEX topic was declared as follows: On the Cutting Edge of Sustainable Development. The exhibition brought together international companies specializing in the sectors of renewable and clean energy sources to showcase the latest products and technologies and embrace the investment opportunities of Dubai. According to the Dubai Clean Energy Strategy and Zero Emissions Strategy, the largest emirate of the UAE plans to completely switch to renewable energy sources by 2050. Therefore, it is open to the active implementation of international companies' cutting-edge developments.
"WETEX has become a high–quality and necessary platform for Russian business to establish personal contacts with foreign partners, hold substantive negotiations and just to realize that we have a space to move forward and to develop. A number of established contacts can already be called highly promising – there is every chance that they will result in common projects," notes Maksim Zagornov, President of Distributed Power Generation Association, Business Ambassador of Business Russia to the UAE.
The program of the business mission of Business Russia to the UAE also included visits to the key UAE Free Zones. The delegation visited Masdar City and KEZAD (the Khalifa Economic Zones Abu Dhabi) on September 26 and DMCC Free Zone on September 30. During the meeting, the issue of registering companies in these Free Zones, creating production sites, opening settlement accounts, as well as additional preferences for Russian entrepreneurs were actively discussed. All these Free Zones have declared that they are open to Russian business and ready to accept the companies and teams in the UAE.
A landmark event of the business mission to the UAE was the visit of Russian entrepreneurs to Sharjah Chamber of Commerce and Industry. It was a high-level meeting. The delegation was received by the Chairman of Sharjah Chamber of Commerce and Industry H.E. Abdallah Sultan Al Owais. In the course of the conversation, the parties discussed interaction mechanisms between the organizations and possible joint projects. And immediately after that, members of the Russian delegation presented their projects to the representatives of more than 20 companies in Sharjah as part of an extended b2b meeting.
Summarizing the trip, Maksim Zagornov, Business Ambassador of Business Russia to the UAE, noted that this mission to the Emirates can be called one of the most successful ones. He made a specific mention of the friendly attitude of the Emirati partners, their readiness to interact with Russian business.
“The program of the trip was drawn up in such a way as to give its participants the opportunity to get the most comprehensive understanding of doing business in the UAE in the current reality, to establish a wide range of contacts, to work through the specific issues on the localization of production in the UAE. We visited three Free Zones, participated in WETEX which is the leading exhibition in the industry, visited Sharjah Chamber of Commerce and Industry. During the trip, the team of Business Russia Trade House in the UAE held consultations with entrepreneurs, organized spot meetings upon requests, held a thematic webinar on the algorithm for entering the Emirati market. In general, the business mission has proved once again that the UAE is open to cooperation, supports the relocation of Russian companies, and sees this as a huge advantage for itself. Now is the right time to build up your business in the Emirates, move the profit center to this country," says Maksim Zagornov, Business Ambassador of Business Russia to the UAE, President of Distributed Power Generation Association.
It should be noted that the business mission of Business Russia and Distributed Power Generation Association to the UAE was held amidst great interest in the event from international media. Maksim Zagornov, Business Ambassador of Business Russia to the UAE, gave an interview to NHK, which is the Japanese state-public central broadcasting company, one of the largest TV and radio companies in the world.
Contact details:
Maria Nevolina, Adviser to Business Ambassador of Business Russia to the UAE, Chief Executive Officer at Distributed Power Generation Association, +7 9048135383, deloros@energo-union.com
